Melania Trump promises to fight online bullying in polarising speech

In her first major speech since the Republican National Convention in July — where she got in trouble for plagiarising Michelle Obama — Mrs Trump revealed what her one big goal as America’s First Lady would be, should Mr Trump win the election.

She wants to stamp out bullying, particularly on social media.

 

Watching my beautiful wife, Melania, speak about our love of country and family. We will make you all very proud.

A photo posted by Donald J. Trump (@realdonaldtrump) on Nov 3, 2016 at 12:24pm PDT

“Like anything that is powerful, (social media) can have a bad side,” Mrs Trump told an adoring crowd of supporters.

“As adults, many of us are able to handle mean words, even lies. Children and teenagers can be fragile. They are hurt when they are made fun of, or made to feel less in looks or intelligence.

“Our culture has gotten too mean and too rough, especially to children and teenagers. It is never OK when a 12-year-old girl or boy is mocked, bullied or attacked. It is terrible when that happens in the playground, and it is absolutely unacceptable when it’s done by someone with no name hiding on the internet.

“We have to find a better way to talk to each other, to disagree with each other, to respect each other. We must find better ways to honour the basic goodness of our children, especially on social media.”

That’s all very hard to disagree with, and yet the predominant reaction to Mrs Trump’s speech has been one of unbridled scorn. Here, for example, is CNN anchor Jake Tapper’s exasperated response.

We're getting peak Jake Tapper with Melania Trump's anti-bully speech pic.twitter.com/zzqNzjKdqp

— Andrew Husband (@AndrewHusband) November 3, 2016

“In her first campaign speech since the convention, the aspiring First Lady urged voters to ‘treat each other with respect and kindness’, as the nation burst into hysterical laughter,” read a particularly contemptuous article from the Hollywood Reporter.

“If Melania is worried about online bullying, shouldn’t she direct her comments at her husband first?” asked conservative pundit Amanda Carpenter.

“Melania’s speech today would be like Bernie Madoff’s wife giving a talk on the integrity of investment portfolios and fighting Ponzi schemes,” said ABC News political analyst Matthew Dowd.

“I kept thinking, ‘Have you even met Donald Trump?’” said Mr Tapper’s CNN colleague Dana Bash.

Mr Trump does have a habit of attacking people on social media. Here’s a small sample of his more controversial tweets.

Read More (...)